Iowa History Timeline: Text Version
B.C.E. = Before Common Era
C.E. = Common Era
C.E. = Common Era
- 100:
U.S. Event
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Humans Along Mississippi
- 300:
World Event
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Ptolemy Explains the Universe
- 595:
World Event
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Decimals Are Used
- 800:
Iowa Event
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Corn Comes to Iowa
- 868:
World Event
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Books in China
- 900:
World Event
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Mayans Disappear
- 900:
Iowa Event
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Oneota Culture
The Oneota people lived and farmed in Iowa and are thought to be descendents of the Ioway Indians.
Find out more about the Oneota Culture in Iowa. - 900-1300:
Iowa Event
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Great Oasis Culture
- 900-1300:
Iowa Event
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Glenwood Culture
- 970:
World Event
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First University
- 986:
World Event
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Vikings in Greenland
A Viking explorer named Eric the Red set up a colony in Greenland.
Find out about early explorers in Iowa. - 1000:
Iowa Event
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Mill Creek Culture
The Mill Creek lived in Iowa for hundreds of years, but were gone before the Europeans came in the late 1600s.
Find out more about the Mill Creek Culture in Iowa. - 1215:
World Event
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Magna Carta
- 1325:
U.S. Event
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Kachina Art in the Southwest
The Kachina culture flourished in present-day southwestern United States. Artistic masks and dolls were created.
Find out about artists in Iowa. - 1492:
U.S. Event
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Columbus to America
- 1576:
World Event
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First Theater
- 1595:
World Event
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Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare wrote the great love story, Romeo and Juliet.
Find out about arts and culture in Iowa. - 1607:
World Event
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Italy is Music Center
Venice was considered one of the greatest musical centers of Europe.
Find out about arts and culture in Iowa. - 1609:
World Event
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Galileo Proves Sun as Center
- 1620:
U.S. Event
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Pilgrims to America
- 1636:
U.S. Event
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First College
Harvard College was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was the first colonial institution of higher learning.
Find out about Iowa's first colleges. - 1647:
U.S. Event
-
America's First Schools
The Massachusetts Bay Colony required each town of 50 or more families to have a school. The schools that taught reading and writing were called grammar schools. Schools that prepared boys for college were called Latin schools.
Find out about Iowa's first school. - 1660:
World Event
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First Women Performers
Women appeared for the first time in plays in England and France. Previously male performers dressed as women in performances.
Find out about arts and culture in Iowa. - 1673:
Iowa Event
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Jolliet and Marquette Explore Future Iowa
Louis Jolliet and Pere Jacques Marquette were the first known Europeans to discover the land that would become Iowa. In 1673 Louis Jolliet led a crew down the Fox River from Lake Michigan. They crossed over to the Wisconsin River and sailed southwest into uncharted territory. Father Marquette, a Catholic priest who accompanied the expedition, kept a diary. On June 17 he recorded that the group reached the mouth of the Wisconsin River where it flowed into the Mississippi. Across the river were high bluffs covered with heavy forests. Today that site includes Pike's Peak State Park near the town of McGregor.
Find out more about Iowa's early European explorers. - 1673:
Iowa Event
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First Catholic Mass in Iowa
In June Father Jacques Marquette stopped on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River and offered a Catholic Mass.
Find out more about religion in Iowa. - Late 1600s:
Iowa Event
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Europeans come to Iowa
European trappers, traders and explorers came to the area that became Iowa.
Find out more about European trappers, traders and explorers in Iowa. - 1682:
Iowa Event
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La Salle Claims the Mississippi River for France
Rene-Robert Cavelier La Salle claimed the land in the Mississippi River valley, including Iowa and most of North America, for the King of France. LaSalle explored the Mississippi River from its mouth and claimed the river and all land drained by it for the King of France. The area was known as Louisiana after King Louis XIV of France.
Find out more about Iowa's early European explorers. - 1700s:
World Event
-
The Industrial Revolution Begins
- 1700s:
Iowa Event
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Mesquakies Trade Lead
The Mesquakie Indians living in the area that became Iowa traded lead ore with French and English traders.
Find out more about lead mining in Iowa. - 1700-1840:
U.S. Event
-
British and French Explore America
British and French explorers came to America searching for riches and resources.
Find out more about the fur trade in Iowa. - 1730:
U.S. Event
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Africans Become Slaves
- 1754-60:
U.S. Event
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French and Indian War
War between France and Britain. Fought over land in America. The French Empire in North America came to an end as a result of the war. Britain got control of all the land east of the Mississippi River and all lands of present-day Canada.
- 1755:
World Event
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First Dictionary
The first English language dictionary was published by Samuel Johnson. It took him nine years to write it.
- 1762:
Iowa Event
-
Future Iowa Owned by Spain
The King of France transferred the claim to the Mississippi River valley to the King of Spain during the Seven Years' War, usually known in the United States as the French and Indian War. This was done to prevent the land from being claimed by England, against whom the war was being fought.
Find out more about Iowa's early exploration. - 1766:
U.S. Event
-
First Theater in America
- 1775:
World Event
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First Toilets
- 1775:
U.S. Event
-
American Revolution Began
The first battles of the American Revolution, the battles of Lexington and Concord, touched off eight years of war between the American colonists and Britain.
- 1776:
U.S. Event
-
Declaration of Independence
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